Here’s a list to keep an extra eye on concerning IT security in 2014. Check Point stacks up what they believe is the focus areas 2014 and you can see that it’s topped by threats by employees.

social engineering
It’s not a new threat , but we see no hint of a de-escalation . Targeted attacks via e- mail remains the most common method for spreading malware and conduct phishing attacks against companies.

Internal threats
This threat is not new but still represents a huge risk. Trust is a delicate matter that makes companies vulnerable , so you have to look over who has access to sensitive information and how it is stored.

Targeted attacks using malicious code
During the end of 2012 about 36 million Euro was stolen from 30 European banks through the so-called ” Eurograbber ” attack. Check Point expects similar sophisticated attacks in 2014 by using malicious code , where the goal is to steal money or intellectual property.

Botnets
Bots continues to be a very common technique for cybercriminals , simply because it is a very effective tool . The Check Point 2013 Security Report analyzed nearly 900 business networks and we found that 63 percent were infected with bots . Unfortunately, it seems that the botnets are here to stay , so you have to be prepared.

BYOD – an expensive business
It has long been much talk about BYOD and security, but unfortunately , the development is still a big problem for many businesses. In 2013, examined Check Point 800 companies globally and found that 79 percent had experienced a costly incident linked to mobile devices over the past 12 months.

DDoS attacks
Everything from public websites of financial institutions have struggled against wave after wave of DDoS attacks in the past two years. Check Point can sadly see no sign of slowing down – on the contrary , we expect that more and more organizations will be potential targets of these attacks in 2014.

Theft of customer information
Customer information remains highly valued by cyber criminals, and we think we will see more examples like hacker attack against Adobe , where millions of user data was stolen . All organizations that store large volumes of customer information is of potential targets.